Little Red
by SkullBoss
Summary: She was little and red, just like a tomato. That's why Leo would obviously fall for her. Well, that's what Niles would say. But Leo knows better, as his only memories with this girl were made up of accidental eye contact, collisions in the hallway, and muttered apologies. However, that all changes when Leo learns her name: Sakura. (Modern AU)
1. The Little Things

Over his three years of high school, Leo had learned pretty much everything he could about his school. From who taught each class to the fastest ways to get to each class and even which hallways were the most crowded during each period, he was pretty knowledgeable. He even memorized the little things most people didn't- he had an eye for detail. When school was so easy for him, memorizing so many little things could provide him with some challenge his classes didn't provide.

One of those things he noticed was one girl he had always passed by every day for the last three years of high school yet never spoken to once. And by passed by, he of course meant almost bumped into. Or made awkward eye contact with. All while never even knowing her name. So, maybe she wasn't such a small detail when she gave his best friend Niles so many things to make fun of him for.

The girl was very short for a High School student, as she was barely taller than Leo's own sister Elise, who was a Sophomore and considered tiny for her age. She also had rather unique pink hair. While on many others it would have been seen as striking or punkish, she somehow managed to make it look natural in a way. She had a gentle face and soft brown eyes Despite never speaking to her, Leo almost felt like she was a familiar presence. Perhaps seeing her every day to the point of being able to easily describe her was part of that. _I really hope that doesn't make me a creep..._

He didn't expect things would be any different in Junior year. He would run into her, but never actually say anything. The same as always. And as he left the school, he recalled one of the many places he would always see her.

The last bell of the day had rung, and Leo had just left the building to head to his bus. Unfortunately, his last class had been at the back of the school and he didn't have any friends to walk with. The same as always. _Ugh. Since when was Algebra II something we needed to know?_ Leo was always good at math, but he much prefered applying it to science over solving meaningless problems.

Lost in his thoughts and not really paying mind to his surroundings, Leo turned around a corner of the building and almost bumped head-first into a shorter girl in front of him. When he looked up, a part of him somehow knew exactly who it would be. Just as he expected, it was the short, pink-haired girl who he had run into every year of High School. She had apparently dressed up for the first day of school, wearing a white dress with a red ribbon and matching red vertical stripes. Meanwhile, Leo had just thrown on a pair of slacks and a shirt that wasn't inside-out. After they both muttered quick, barely audible apologies to each other, they went their separate ways.

When Leo finally got to his bus, every seat was taken. Then again, it was to be expected, as he had literally made a walk from one end of the school to the other. Leo scanned the seats to find the one person nobody else would ever choose to sit next to.

Surely enough, wearing his signature worn black hoodie with his hair dyed white in an attempt to be mysterious and edgy, Niles was sitting near the back of the bus on a larger seat. Leo pushed Niles' backpack aside and took a seat. It was Niles who spoke first.

"Hey dad, how's the first day back been for you?"

Leo sighed. Most people would be put off by the odd language that Niles used on an everyday basis, but Leo had gotten used to it after being friends with him since grade school.

"Well, it wasn't the best. Could be better, could be worse."

After a while of talking about their classes, Niles changed the subject. "So, did you meet anyone new today?"

"I mean, not really. I almost bumped head first into someone on my way here, if that counts."

"Oh, did he kick your ass? Is that why you took thirty years? You're a terrible father."

Repressing the urge to groan, Leo continued on. "Well, 'he' was kind of a she, so…"

"Oooohhh, was she hot? Did your hand fall on her knockers?"

"Niles."

"Leo."

"That's stupid. This isn't one of Odin's animes."

"Hey, I'm just pulling your leg. Anyways, is it the same girl who you kept almost bumping into on our way out of Lit last year?"

Leo thought for a second, as if he didn't already know. "Hmmm… yeah. I think so. Pink hair, really short, always looks like she's scared of something…"

"Yep. Same girl. Doesn't this happen every year? She keeps popping up."

"Yeah. But we've never even talked. Truth be told, I couldn't even tell you her name."

"Hey. I don't need her name and number, that's for you to get."

"Niles. Why are you like this?"

"Hey, she's little and red. And so are tomatoes. So clearly, that's why you're so in love with her."

"Niles, I eat tomatoes. Are you saying I'm going to eat this poor girl? I'm not some cannibal."

Nile suggestively wiggled his eyebrows. Leo realized exactly what he was thinking and punched Niles in the shoulder.

"Damn, Leo. You'd hit a little innocent little flower like me? You're a terrible person."

Leo just smirked. No matter how weird Niles could be, Leo could always rely on him to bring a little bit of laughter into his life.

"Yeah. I would."

* * *

Finally reaching the student parking lot, Sakura spotted her sister Hinoka's distinctive red car. As she had finally gotten her license, she had agreed to drive Sakura and Takumi home every day… unless she was going anywhere with her boyfriend Hinata. Thankfully, there wouldn't be any plans on the first day of school. _Hey, going with my family is much better than sitting alone on the bus._

Apparently Takumi hadn't arrived yet, so Sakura decided to talk to Hinoka.

"H-hi, Hinoka."

"Hey, Sakura! So how's your first day back?"

"Well, i-it was pretty good, I have to say. I don't have any classes with friends until tomorrow, but I still ate lunch with them. So not bad."

"Eh. Mine was fine too. But hey, last year for me! That's something."

"Aren't you a bit nervous about leaving?"

"Well, not really. I'm more bothered that I won't be around to take care of you. God knows Takumi won't do much."

Sakura flushed. "Y-you know you don't need to take care of me, right? I'm only two years younger than you."

Hinoka sighed. "Yeah, yeah. But you'll always be my baby sister. And Takumi will always be my baby pineapple sibling."

"What about me?"

Sakura giggled at Takumi's timing. He had a penchant for walking in at the wrong time and generally being the siblings' go-to for any jokes. Even then, it was all in good fun and Takumi didn't mind as long as nobody picked on his insecurities.

"Hinoka was just saying that she can't wait to go to college so she can find a place to plant you and grow a beautiful pineapple plant."

Takumi grumbled. "Ah, whatever. So my day was fine, thanks for asking."

Sakura saw a tiny bit of guilt on Hinoka's face before she spoke again. "Oh yeah, how was your day?"

Takumi's face brightened. "As I said, alright. I hung out with Oboro and Hinata, have some classes with them. Even though I do sort of miss Orochi since she graduated. I never thought I'd say it, but I miss her making fun of me."

Hinoka grinned. "Then it's a good thing you have me to pick up the slack."

Takumi and Hinoka mostly talked to each other at that point, letting Sakura think about her day a bit more. Her day and the boy who she had run into for the third year in a row. She never knew his name, but she knew his face. After all, she had quite a few run-ins with the stranger over her three years at the high school.

Despite not him not knowing her at all, he had somehow seen almost every accident Sakura had in a hallway. Then again, a lot somehow involved him. Whether it was accidental and awkward eye contact that lasted a second too long, her tripping in front of him, or even the few times she accidentally ran straight into the poor guy, the boy seemed to be a magnet for Sakura's accidents.

She never talked about it much, even though Takumi shared chess club with him. The few times she did talk about the incidents mostly just led to embarrassment. Even if her family found the stories amusing, she didn't like being laughed at over them. So she just kept most of her run-ins to herself and _maybe_ would mention them to Hana or Subaki. _I really hope that noticing that guy all the time doesn't make me a weirdo..._

* * *

The bus finally reached the stop near Nohr Junior High. Leo and Niles both walked off and went their separate ways to their houses. Elise caught up with Leo after a few seconds.

"BIG BRO!"

Before Leo had time to react, Elise was already crushing his ribs with a massive hug. Even though they were in the middle of the sidewalk. Most people would be embarrassed, but Leo always had a soft spot for his little sister.

"Jeez, Elise. You're going to break all my bones one day. I really hope you know that."

Elise laughed. "Yeah, and then I'll be the smartest one in the family!" Leo smiled as Elise continued speaking. "So anyways, how was your first day?"

After having a conversation similar to the earlier one with Niles (Albeit with much less profanity, dirty remarks, and memes), Leo and Elise got to their house.

It was a large, dark blue and black house with high hedges and an immaculately kept lawn. To some, the house would be imposing. Something straight out of a villainous lair in an old fantasy story. But to Leo and Elise, it was home. And what looked dark and scary on the outside was truly a warm, welcoming place on the inside. Leo and Elise were the only ones home, as Camilla had decided to drive home with her friends, which meant stopping on the other side of town to drop off Beruka… who Leo was pretty sure wasn't just a "friend" to her at this point. Corrin was probably out with her boyfriend Silas again. Their father would not be returning home until dinnertime, as he had to work. Their stepmother would probably be picking up their stepsister Azura from a band meeting, as their school had decided that a meeting on the first day was somehow a good idea.

Fishing the keys out of his pocket and going inside, Leo plopped down on his favorite spot on the couch in his family room. It was a large, beige couch that they had for years. Leo always sat in the same spot, as he had decided it was the perfect spot years ago due to its convenient proximity to outlets, a small table, and a perfect viewing point for the television. Elise sat on the other end of the couch and put her feet up to lay down.

"So, Elise. Did you meet anyone new today?"

"Oh, yeah! I mostly hung out with Arthur and Effie as usual, but when I went to my Bio class, there was a really nice girl I sat with!"

"Nice, nice. I didn't really meet anyone today, but I'm good with the friends I have. So what's your new friend like?

"Oh, she's actually kind of like you!"

Intrigued, Leo raised his eyebrows. "Really? Makes it hard to believe you'd want to hang around her if she's anything like me."

Elise puffed her cheeks out. "Leo, you're such a meanie!"

Leo smirked. "Point proven."

Elise playfully kicked Leo in the ribs. "Anyways, back to what I was saying. She's like you, but not a BIG STUPID MEANIE." She giggled. "But seriously, she actually did remind me of you. She was really shy at first, but then when I talked to her she was really polite. I didn't know much about her since she had a hard time opening up, but once we had to do some silly little ice breakers, I learned a lot about her!"

"So, how's she like me?"

"Well, I already said she's shy. Well, I know you're a bit more antsy and anxious than shy, but still. She also really likes science, just like you! And she likes Pokemon and World of Warcraft and all that nerd stuff too! She's super smart also, she skipped a grade like you so she's technically a Junior now. I thought of telling her she reminded me of you, but I figured comparing a girl to your brother isn't always a good idea, you know?"

"Yeah. But hey, color me impressed by your taste in friends. What's her name?"

"Sakura! If you ever see her, you can't miss her. She's really short like me. Well, not AS short, but still pretty small. She's also got pink hair, so she's pretty hard to miss."

Suddenly, Leo felt an odd feeling in his chest. He was a bit anxious, but also a bit excited. He was happy with the friends he had, but if there was someone who was just like him that he saw every day, well… that's just the kind of person worth getting to know.

"Actually, I think I've seen her around before."


	2. Brand New Day

With the second day of school came a second set of classes. And with a second set of classes came a second selection of people to interact with every day. Leo walked into his gym class not knowing what to expect. _Gym? Why do I have to go here first period? I'm already sprinting to the bus half the time, I think I get enough of a workout every morning. Well, might as well be try to be positive for once. Maybe do things like Corrin would._ As if to show this change in attitude, he had put a bit more effort into how he dressed, as he had put on a black two-pocketed military shirt and a cleaner pair of slacks.

Leo vowed that he would at least attempt positivity, something Corrin had suggested to him over dinner the night before. Of course, Garon just told Leo to do things whichever way he saw as right. Still half asleep, Leo rubbed his eyes and scanned the class for familiar faces. _Ugh. Nobody. The one time I decide to be positive, this happens._ At least there were technically two gym classes that shared a time and class area.

And as soon as the thought left his mind, Leo found a single familiar face. It was a tiny girl with pink hair. And Leo knew there was only one person in the school who fit that description. Of course, when she turned around, Leo found he was still correct. It was definitely Sakura. _Well, I don't know anybody else here. Two gym classes in one room and I don't know a single person. Should I talk to her? Ugh, what would I even say? "Hi, I'm Leo and you talked to my sister once?"_

And as soon as the thought left his mind, Leo found a single familiar face. It was a tiny girl with pink hair. And Leo knew there was only one person in the school who fit that description. Of course, when she turned around, Leo found he was still correct. It was definitely Sakura. Today, she wasn't dressed up as much, only wearing some jeans and a shirt with a pattern of cats on it. Well, I don't know anybody else here. Two gym classes in one room and I don't know a single person. Should I talk to her? Ugh, what would I even say? "Hi, I'm Leo and you talked to my sister once?"

 _Of COURSE she knows someone here. The one person I think would be just as scared as I am to actually meet people and she already knows TWO people._ Leo blew out a long breath and looked back at the floor as the gym teachers went to getting their respective classes together. After having a look around, Leo noticed there was still chatter, but Sakura and her friends were not speaking. After awkwardly looking around, Leo noticed Sakura had been cut off from her friends and was in his class. He kind of felt bad knowing that she would be alone, but at the same time he was a bit relieved that there was at least a very small chance of him having someone to speak to. _Does that make me a creep?_

Leo walked into the locker room, looking down at the ground and not focusing on anyone around him. He found a quiet corner to change and wait. Of course, the alone time gave him some much needed room to think. _I really do want to make friends this year, but what would I even say to her? I'd probably just come off as a creep hitting on her or something. I mean, Elise is actually good at this kind of thing. I'm not._

Leo sighed. Beating himself up wouldn't change anything. Whatever happened would happen. All he had to do was not act like a total dunce. And gym class wasn't too big, he'd probably get to know someone eventually, whether or not it was Sakura.

Leo got up as he noticed the rest of the class leaving the locker room. After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he followed them back to the gym. Sakura was just wrapping up a conversation with the girl from earlier, as the classes were splitting up once again. Soon, the teachers started calling out names to organize the lines the class would take attendance and warm up with for the rest of the year.

"Alright, last line. First is Sakura Shirasagi…"

Leo saw Sakura walk over to the front of the last line. Then he realized he was the only student who still did not have a line. That meant...

"Second is Leo Windmire. Well, it'll be half a line." said the teacher. "Anyways, this is a team-based class and I expect you to be able to work together. To encourage this, the first ten minutes of class will be dedicated to getting to know your classmates. Talk to one other person in your line. If I see any cell phones, you can take a zero for the day."

Leo was both nervous and excited. He actually had a chance to talk to someone new. But it was also someone who he had no interactions with but accidental eye contact, hallway collisions, and muttered apologies. Even if she was someone who he wanted to get to know.

It was a few minutes before the silence was broken. Surprisingly, she was the one who spoke first, although she was barely audible.

"H-hello. Leo, right?"

Leo took his eyes off the floor and looked up. Her face was probably more red than her pink hair. _Well, Elise wasn't lying about her being shy._

"Yeah. You're Sakura, right?"

"Um… yeah. S-so… we have to talk for ten minutes."

"I guess so. Well, only seven minutes now. For what it's worth, I'm probably just as nervous about this as you. Meeting people isn't exactly easy."

"Really? You don't look so scared to me…" Suddenly, Sakura put her hands over her mouth. "O-oh god! I'm so sorry, was that rude?"

"Nah, it's fine. I've never really been that expressive, I can't blame you. I know you already actually have a friend here, so you weren't exactly expecting to have to talk to some stranger."

"Thanks for understanding. A-anyways, I'm guessing you like Pokemon if your shirt means anything?"

Leo looked down and noticed that the shirt he had changed into was an old shirt of his with a Gengar on it.

"Oh, yeah. I'm guessing you're into it too?"

"Mhm!"

Leo noticed Sakura wasn't so scared anymore. She wasn't making full eye contact yet and her face was still a bit flushed, but she wasn't looking at the ground anymore and she was grinning a bit.

"Well, that's cool. Which one's your favorite?"

Sakura was a bit more excited now, they now had something in common. "Mine's probably Togepi, but Mimikyu from the new game looks really nice too. The little Mimikyu song that they put out really made it stand out to me."

"Nice. Well, I'm guessing you can already tell Gengar's an old favorite of mine, but some of my newer favorites are Cacturne and Trevenant. The Mimikyu song was cute and all, but maybe a bit of impact was lost on me since I couldn't understand it."

"Well, I guess that makes me lucky for being able to understand Japanese."

"I'm guessing that's where your family is from?"

"Yeah, my dad had to learn two languages since his parents immigrated from Japan. Part of my mom's family is from there too, but they lived here a lot longer."

"Interesting. My family's been here for a while. What's yours like?"

Suddenly, the gym teacher spoke again.

"Alright, it's been ten minutes. Hopefully you know someone now. Now it's time to head out to the field."

Any border between classes was broken as they went outside. Leo noticed Hana was walking up to Sakura again.

"Well, see you around, Leo!"

"See ya."

Leo turned and went outside, not wanting to interrupt Sakura and her friend. Leo wasn't too upset about not being able to talk, as he had already just met a new person, which was definitely enough to make his morning a good one.

* * *

Sakura was pretty surprised that she had actually spoken to Leo. She had seen him a lot over the past few years, but they had never spoken. She didn't even know his name until the gym teacher called it. Apparently, he was related to the girl, Elise, that she had spoken to the day before. That made talking to him just a little bit easier as long as she did her best to repress embarrassing memories of bumping right into him or accidentally making eye contact with him in the hallways. He seemed like a very nice guy, so she was happy to have spoken to him. She didn't have many friends, but the ones she had were very close to her. One more was always good.

"So, Saku, who was that boy?"

"Oh, my gym teacher wanted our class to talk to someone on our line. He and I were the only ones in our line, so I kind of talked to him."

"Who are you? Sakura Shirasagi, talking to a boy she doesn't know? What's next, is Subaki going to admit that he likes that Severa girl?"

"W-well, I've sort of seen him around before. And I think I know his sister…"

Hana suddenly had an incredibly goofy grin. "WAIT… oh my god, is that the same boy you kept ogling in the hallways last year?"

"N-no, Hana, it's not like that! It was just accidental eye contact…"

"Oh, and you also bumped right into him, like, five times!"

"Hana, stop…"

"Ah, okay. I'm just teasing." Hana winked. "I mean, why would I ruin your newfound love?"

Sakura jokingly shoved Hana aside, desperately trying to hide her increasingly red face. "Hana, you're the worst. I just met this guy, we're barely friends yet. It was a ten minute conversation about Pokemon."

"Whatever you say, Saku. Whatever you say."


	3. Friends and Flusters

"So, anyways, I think this is the year I'll finally go out with a girl. For real this time."

Severa laughed. "Oh, yeah, Inigo. And the year that Owain stops stealing my damn tots."

Leo watched as Owain grabbed another handful of Severa's tater tots. After gym class and history, Leo really wanted to just settle down and eat lunch with his friends, no matter how silly they always were. Inigo was always trying to be some romantic hero, Severa was always incredibly competitive, Owain was always spitting out memes and anime jokes, and Niles… was just Niles. But most importantly, they had all stuck with him through all the hard times and were reliable friends.

Inigo was still indignant about Severa's response. "Hmph. I'll have you know that I'm already convinced that there's a girl who likes me."

Niles stole one of the slices of Inigo's apple. "Who is she? Your mom doesn't count."

Inigo glared at Niles. "Niles, I'd like to see you get someone."

"Hey, why would I want anyone else? I already have my loving family with me right now." Niles spread his arms, gesturing to their tight-knit group of five.

Severa scoffed. "If I was related to you I'd actually kill myself."

"What, are you afraid of… forbidden love?"

"Niles, that's disgusting."

"Oh, yeah… you wouldn't cheat on Prince Charming after all."

Owain spoke through the tater tots he had stolen from Severa. "Oh, Severa's Prince Charming? You mean Subaru Automobiles?"

Severa planted her palm in her face. "First, his name is Subaki, not Subaru. Second, I don't like that arrogant hack at all. I bet he's still salty that I beat him at the mile run in gym yesterday."

"Your class already did the mile run?" said Leo. "Geez, all I did was talk about Pokemon with some girl in my class. Beat that, Inigo."

Niles leaned forwards. "Some girl? No, it's not just some girl… it's obviously Little Tomato-chan, your one true love!"

Inigo leaned in too. "A girl? Am I hearing this right? Is Leo Windmire talking to girls?"

"Did you just assume Severa's gender?" said Owain.

"Shut up, Owain." was the only response Severa gave.

"Ugh, fine." Owain slumped in his seat. "Anyways, what does 'Little Tomato-chan' even mean? I feel like I'm being left out of a meme. And nobody keeps the great and spicy Odin Dark away from mighty memes!"

Niles had a massive shit-eating grin on his face. "So, you know how Leo kept almost bumping into that girl last year? And TOTALLY EYING HER?"

"Niles, do you really need to mention that? It was an accident." asked Leo.

"Yeah, I do. Anyways, he's totally in love with her now. Because she's got her pink hair and she's like, 5-feet tall, so she's little and red. Just like a tomato."

Leo looked down at his sandwich, which had very thickly cut tomato slices on it. He resisted the urge to fling a slice right into Niles's face. But it wasn't worth wasting the tomato.

"What makes you think that, Niles?" Leo had a feeling his face was slightly red now, but if it was, nobody said anything.

"Oh, well, other than her being just like your favorite thing to stick in your mouth? Well, you were talking about how you almost bumped right into her for the _whole_ bus ride yesterday, so…"

"Niles, I mentioned the incident for like two seconds."

"Pfft. Tomato, tomahto. But what I'm saying is it's even more obvious than your little sister's crush on Owain."

It was Owain's turn to turn red. "She doesn't like me that way!"

Severa raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? Then why is it that she's the only one who ever calls you Odin Dark back? Is that why she keeps trying to join our D&D games? Is that why Camilla's telling me how Elise is always saying how cool you are?"

"She thinks I'm cool?"

Leo reached over and flicked Severa right between the eyes with his pointer finger.

Severa tried to grab Leo's wrist, but he pulled back too fast. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

"Eh, you kind of deserved that. You know, Elise is still my sister."

"Hmph." Severa turned away, even though she clearly wasn't actually angry.

However, Inigo appeared unfazed by the total change of subject. "So, Niles! Back to the subject at hand! Tell me all about how Leo has found love!"

Leo glared at Inigo, but Inigo either did not notice or did not care. _Note to self: never make a joke about beating Inigo to anything involving girls._

"Oh, they've been bumping into each other, checking each other out when they think the other one isn't looking. It's really just a true romance."

Leo balled up a fist. "It's just awkward shit."

Owain suddenly interrupted. "Ooooh, I know what you've gotta do! You're always bumping into each other, right?"

Leo looked at Owain warily. "Yeah."

"And you just talked to her, right?"

"Well then obviously, you've gotta make a move!"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THA-"

"You've gotta have an epic anime romance! First step: trip right into her bazongas. And then stutter while apologizing for like, five minutes!"

Leo laughed. At least Owain wasn't going to be serious about this. "No, I'll make it even better. Trip right into the bazongas, AND spill a cardboard box willed to the brim with spaghetti on her in the process. Then stutter for five minutes and call her senpai."

Owain offered his hand for a high-five. "That's the right way to think, my dude!"

Leo slapped Owain's hand way harder than necessary. "Good one, Leo!"

Inigo wistfully sighed. "Leo, stop denying your feelings. You totally like this girl."

Leo gave Inigo a deadpan stare. "Seriously? Niles was just teasing and Owain was just joking. Why do you think I like her?"

"Come on, you've talked about her so much!"

"I mentioned her once before Niles dragged it out. She's just a friend. And a friend I've literally talked to for ten minutes. One time."

"Sure, Leo, whatever you say."

* * *

Sakura was sitting at a small picnic table in the courtyard outside the cafeteria, completely unaware of the conversation Leo was having with his jolly crew inside. She was sitting with her usual small group of herself, Hana, and Subaki.

Hana, of course, immediately went to tell Subaki that Sakura had talked to a boy.

"Really, you talked to someone new? Good job, Sakura. I know that's always been hard for you." Subaki gave Sakura a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Th-thanks Subaki."

"Really, Subaki? That's all? IT'S A BOY."

"So what, Hana? I'm a boy. She's been talking to me since we were nine years old."

"Well that's because when she met you, you were crying because you got hit in face with a dodgeball and she helped get you to the nurse's office."

"Hana, it doesn't mean anything."

"Really? Well what if I told you it was the same boy she's been bumping into for the past few years and totally looking at when she thinks we can't see?"

"Well, um…"

Sakura puffed out her cheeks. "Come on, Subaki, you too?"

Subaki almost looked defeated. "Well, what can I say? There's nothing wrong with having a crush on anyone."

Sakura suddenly had a fiercely confident look. "Oh yeah? Like you a-and that Severa girl?"

Subaki's face was suddenly as red as his hair. "I already told you, it's not like that! I only respect that she beat me in the mile run, nothing more!"

Hana punched Subaki in the shoulder. "Ha! Now you're both out in the world, looking for love!"

Sakura let herself smile again. At least now Subaki was embarrassed too.

"But really, it's not like that with me and that boy either. We just talked about Pokemon for ten minutes, and I know his sister too. It would be weird if we were… you know."

Hana gave Sakura a slap on the back. "Come on, Saku. I'm just teasing. I've always got your back!"

Sakura smiled. "Yeah."

She may have been happy with her small core group of three, but the possibility of growing closer to Leo in the coming months still excited her.

After leaving lunch, Sakura had to go to her last two classes for the day. Art class was pretty easy and uneventful, as she just spent the whole time drawing Pokemon, mostly motivated by her conversation with Leo from the beginning of the day. After that came her anatomy class. She had taken the introductory course and knew it wouldn't be an easy class, but it was a necessary part of her dream of becoming a doctor.

She was probably one of the first people to get in, and there was only one face she recognized.

"Heya, Sakura!"

As soon as Sakura noticed her, Elise started waving. Of course, she sat next to her, not knowing anyone else in the class.

"Hi, Elise. H-how's your day been?"

"Oh, it's been great! How's yours been?"

 _Do I tell her that I met her brother?_ Sakura thought for a moment. _Sure, why not?_

"W-well… it's been nice, I suppose. Um… I actually talked to someone without them saying anything to me first."

"Ooh, nice! Who was it? Were they nice?"

"W-well… yeah." _Why can't I just say it was Leo? Why doesn't that feel right?_

Suddenly, the teacher began to call attendance and their conversation was cut short. _Why am I relieved by this?_

There was not much work, as it was the first day of class and a Friday, but Sakura still just wanted to go home. She couldn't shake the feeling of awkwardness when she was with Elise after her friends had insinuated that she "liked" Leo. When the bell rung, she gave a quick goodbye to Elise, gathered up her things, and darted out the door.

When Sakura got outside, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _No. Don't be scared. I'm just friends with Leo, I've only spoken with him once. And Hana is just making fun of me._

When she opened her eyes, she felt less scared and began her walk to the back parking lot. Hinoka wasn't going out with her boyfriend Hinata today, so she had agreed to drive Sakura home. Sakura took another deep breath. _The only person I'll have to speak to is my sister. That's easy. No anxiety here._

However, she forgot one key factor. As she was busy looking at the ground to avoid eye contact with the people around her, she heard a quiet "Excuse me" all too late.

* * *

Leo had just left his history class and was making his way to his bus. _Well, having Owain a class was… interesting._ Leo thought back to how many times he had to hold his breath and try not to crack up in the middle of class. He let himself smile and look up at the sky.

Soon, Leo saw the same face he did every day. A face he could now name and describe the personality of: Sakura. However, she was a bit too busy looking at the ground to notice him.

"Excuse m-"

Sakura clearly didn't hear him, as she walked right into him. While he was fine, he could not say the same for Sakura, who fell backwards and immediately started scrambling to get up. _Oh god, I am so glad Owain isn't here for this…_

"O-oh, I'm so sorry!" Her face was incredibly red. She threw her hands up to cover it and immediately scurried away.

"It's alright, I should be the one who's sorry… have a nice weekend!" called Leo, but she was already long gone.

 _Well, it looks like getting to know her might take some time. And effort._


	4. Home is Where The Heart is

After only two days back at school, the weekend had already come. Despite the excitement of the Friday before, Leo was happy that he would have a day to relax at home. Even if he didn't get to sleep in as much.

Just like many weekend days, he did not wake up to his alarm. Instead, he woke up ten minutes earlier from a giant mass of fur jumping onto his bed to slobber all over his face.

"AGH!"

Leo had to use all of what little strength he had at seven in the morning to coax his dog, Keaton, off of him. Keaton was a massive Siberian Husky who at times looked more like a wolf than a dog. He had an excitable personality and a tendency to drag random objects from outside into the house, but he was beloved by the entire family. This was especially true with Camilla, who was responsible for most of his spoiling and playtime.

When Leo finally was able to push Keaton to the side of the bed, he grabbed his phone. After all, there was no going back to sleep after waking up to Keaton's affections. Especially when the massive dog had decided to keep his face right near Leo's hands in a bid to get pet.

Looking at his phone, Leo caught up on his group chat. Owain and Niles had been spamming each other with memes all the way until three in the morning. _I will never understand how or why they do that._ So really, there wasn't much to check there. Instead of reading on his phone, he pulled out his book and read another chapter. After that, he decided it was time to get up. Once he gave Keaton the attention he clearly wanted, Leo finally rolled out of bed, grabbed some sweats to wear, and headed off to shower. _Just another morning, I guess._

* * *

Sakura woke up the same way she did every morning: with a little ball of fur sleeping right next to her. It was her dog Kaden, a Shiba she had owned for as long as she could remember. While the whole family loved him, it was no secret that Sakura was always his favorite. Careful not to wake him up, Sakura reached over for her phone. She checked for any missed messages from Subaki or Hana, listened to a little bit of music, and checked the weather to see what a good time to walk Kaden would be. _Well, it's still warm. Maybe I'll take a longer walk with him today, he might like that!_

Still careful not to wake Kaden, Sakura slid out of her bed and adjusted the white sheet behind her to avoid making a mess. Checking the clock, she saw it was still a bit before eight in the morning. _Well, looks like Kaden's not the only one to worry about waking up._ Adjusting the extra-large shirt she had slept in to avoid it getting caught in her door, she tiptoed out of her room to take a shower, cautious not to make any noises.

Of course, noises were still made. Just not by Sakura.

"Agh, how did nobody wake me up? My parents are going to be so mad…"

It was a girl's voice, probably a bit older than Sakura's. But it was not Hinoka. Of course, there was only one girl who she knew with that voice. When the girl burst out of the bathroom, Sakura jumped back with a small "Eep!"

The voice was from Oboro, one of Takumi's oldest friends. _Well, that's what he says anyways. Wait, does this make me just like Hana now? Oh, I'm so hopeless sometimes..._

"Oh… um… hi, Sakura! I came here to hang out with Takumi and Hinata last night. I guess I fell asleep at some point in your living room and… oh, everyone's still sleeping, right?"

Sakura shyly nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground. _Oh no, now somebody's seen me without a shower! I probably look so gross…_

Oboro lowered her voice. "It's all fine though. I cleaned up after myself and made breakfast for Takumi. He'll be up on time to eat it, right?"

"P-probably. A-anyways, I kind of need to… um, shower, you know?"

Oboro smacked herself in the forehead. "Ugh. Of course. I'm so sorry, this is your house after all."

"Well… do you need anyone to get you home? Maybe Hinoka wouldn't be too mad if I woke her up…"

Oboro frantically waved her hands in front of her. "No, no! It's fine, I can just go on my bike. Plus, well… you know what she probably thinks is the reason I'm still here…"

Sakura did not react.

Oboro turned a bit red. "Um, you know… nevermind. Anyways, have a nice day." After that, she dashed down the stairs, through the living room, and out of the house as fast as she could. Sakura just prayed that nobody else was woken up as she walked into the bathroom to get her shower ready.

* * *

Leo got out of the bathroom with a loud yawn. He picked one of his neatly folded shirts out and slipped into some sweatpants, then stuck his phone in his pocket. _Well, might as well get some breakfast._

He saw that the lights downstairs were on. _Who else is up?_ As he walked down the stairs, he saw two people: his sister Elise and his stepsister Azura. Apparently they had gotten up early and were making breakfast for themselves together.

"Huh. Morning, Elise. Morning, Zura."

The two girls turned around. Azura gave a small wave and quiet good morning back, as well as remind Elise not to yell "Good morning!" too loud. Elise just pouted and went back to waiting on the toaster while Azura took her eggs out of the pan. Leo, on the other hand, made himself an omelette. While most people knew Leo was very intelligent in school, very few knew how much effort he put into learning other things such as nutrition and cooking.

Of course, Elise had to stop him from putting too much diced tomato into it because in her own words: "Leo, if you love tomatoes so much, why don't you just marry one?"

Leo just exhaled out of his nose in amusement and put the tomato back. _I didn't even want it, I just wanted to hear her say that._ The three sat down for breakfast. Their parents were still sleeping, as they tended to do on weekends. Camilla was probably still taking a bath, as for some reason she always prefered them to showers. Corrin was most likely still on her phone, as she was notorious for doing so for hours before actually getting up. Xander, of course, was at the other end of the state at university, probably waking up earlier than them due to his status as the early bird of the family.

Leo was getting bored, so he decided to start a conversation.

"Azura, I've talked to Elise a lot about this, but you've been pretty busy… how were your first two days back?"

"Oh, they were fine. I got a few classes with my friend Kaze, so that's always nice. And before we continue…"

Before Azura could finish, Elise started pointing and laughing at Leo, not letting Azura finish. "Leo, your shirt's inside-out!"

Leo suddenly looked down and his eyes widened while his face turned red. _Why didn't they say anything when I first came down?_ And with that, he ran back to his room to change, probably waking everyone in the house up.

* * *

When Sakura got downstairs to the living room, she found Hinoka working out in front of the television, although her workout video was on very low volume as to not wake up Takumi. Hinoka may have been strong, but there was no force on earth as vicious as a grumpy Takumi woken up too early. She paused her video for a second when she heard Sakura walking down the stairs.

"Phew…" Hinoka wiped some sweat off of her forehead and took a second to breathe. "Good morning, lil' sis."

"Good morning, Hinoka. When did you get up?"

"Six thirty. Early bird gets the worm, you know?"

"Six thirty? But it's a weekend."

"Hey, you know me. I never stop working. Anyways, I made plenty of pancakes so everyone could eat. Well, 'cept Takumi. His _girlfriend_ made him a big ol' morning feast. Honestly, I don't know how she didn't wake everyone up while cooking."

Sakura grinned. "Thanks, Hinoka!" She went in to hug her sister, but when Hinoka put a hand up she remembered Hinoka had been working out for the past half an hour and was probably covered in sweat. "But you do know she's not Takumi's girlfriend, right?"

"You say that now, but just you wait." Hinoka said with a wink. "I mean, I'd know. He and Hinata have been friends before I even knew Hinata, and Hinata's even said he thinks they'll be together by the end of the year. Anyone you have your eye on, lil' sis?"

Sakura's face flushed just a little bit. "N-no… not right now."

"Ah, don't worry. Someday, I'm gonna see you find a guy who's gonna make you so happy that you'll never want him to leave your side. Now go have some breakfast." Hinoka ruffled her sister's hair as she went to the kitchen.

On the counter were several stacks of pancakes, still hot, and a tray of bacon, eggs, and sausages with a small post-it note attached to the plastic wrap covering it to keep it warm. Sakura peeled the note off to read it.

" _Heya Tacomeat! I may or may not have accidentally crashed in your living room last night. No worries though, it's all cleaned up. I figured I wanted to make it up to you, so I made you breakfast! Lots of love, Oboro~"_

Sakura giggled reading the letter. Maybe Hinoka was right after all. _I mean, she literally wrote love that time. That isn't even me jumping to conclusions._ Sakura then put a few pancakes on her plate and looked into the other room to see who else was up.

On the living room couch, her father, Sumeragi, was just wrapping up a phone call.

"Ah, yes. Well, I look forward to seeing you in person again, Mikoto. Have a wonderful day."

As Sumeragi hung up the phone, he looked at Sakura and smiled warmly.

"Ah, good morning, Sakura!"

Sakura grinned back. "Good morning, dad."

Sumeragi got up to sit at the dining table with her as she ate.

"So, do you have any plans for your first weekend of the school year?"

"Well, no… not right now. I'm thinking of taking Kaden for a walk early today."

"That sounds like a great idea, Sakura. I know what I'll be doing, though."

"Oh, yeah! Isn't Miss Mikoto going to be moving into town later this year?"

"Yes. Her sister is getting married to a man who lives in the same town as us, so she's buying a place here. Well, I imagine it won't be for long."

"Why would she move twice in a row?"

Sumeragi stroked his short beard for a moment and leaned back in his chair. "Well, not right away. But, well… you know I've loved her for a few years now. I'm thinking of proposing. Is that alright with you? Your brothers and Hinoka already know."

Sakura looked down at her food and thought as she chewed. "Well, if you're happy, I am too. Miss Mikoto is really nice and I can tell she likes me, so I'd be fine with her coming to be part of our family."

Sumeragi smiled with pride and hugged his youngest daughter. "Thank you, Sakura. I am so happy that you have grown to be such an understanding and kind-hearted girl."

"W-well… I learned from the best dad in the whole world."

* * *

Leo watched his father come down the stairs with a loud yawn. He had slept in once again, as he tended to do on weekends. After all, he worked very hard to provide for his large family of seven, not even including himself. While he did have Arete to help him now, he was still the main breadwinner of the house.

"Good morning, Leo."

"Oh, hey. Morning, dad."

"You know you woke me up earlier, right?"

Leo looked back down at his computer, not out of disinterest in what Garon was saying, but from embarrassment.

"Yeah… sorry. My shirt was inside out and I ate my whole breakfast like that again."

Garon let out a small huff of laughter. "Well, it's a Saturday morning. Busy first week. Anyways, since I had to work late last night, how have your first two days been?"

"Well, they've been alright. Nothing too special so far."

"Any classes with friends?"

"Well, history is with Owain, but not any others. I talked to someone in gym though, they seem pretty nice."

Garon raised his eyebrows. "You? You always tell me how hard it is talking to new people."

Leo turned his chair around and faced away from the computer. "Well, she started the conversation first. Gym teacher wanted us to talk to people."

"She? Well, I'll be damned. Here my son is, finally talking to girls."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Garon just grinned and let out a loud guffaw, as he often did. Laughter caused his wrinkles much more than age did, and Leo enjoyed having such a cheerful father. Even if it did mean being on the receiving end of quite a few jokes.

"Nothing, son. I'm just proud that you're opening up and talking to girls. Well, ones that aren't Severa or your sisters. What's this girl like? Is she pretty?"

Leo's face flushed just a little bit. "Well, she's nice. Likes a lot of the same stuff that I do, actually, which is pretty rare. Very shy though, so she's not really like Severa, who is pretty much one of the guys. And pretty? Sure, she does look nice. Even if all my memories of her are… well, you know who I'm talking about now, don't you?"

Garon smirked. "Oh, yes. The girl who you almost tripped over when I came to pick you up from the chess team. Her brother looked like a pineapple!" At the thought, Garon chuckled again. He laughed at a lot of things, even when they weren't that funny. But then again, he was like many fathers in that way.

Leo grinned despite the embarrassing memory. "Yeah. And, well, you know the other stories."

Garon walked over and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You sure have a lot of 'embarrassing' stories about this girl. Are you sure you aren't… interested in her? You can always trust in me, even when you don't want to talk to anyone else."

Leo leaned back. "No, there isn't anything right now. Sure, she's nice. Sure, she's pretty. But I barely know her. And you know I'm not the kind of person to just jump on the nearest pretty face and call it love."

Garon gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. "Always thinking, you really are my son. But please make sure to have fun in school! You don't get a second childhood. Well, have fun _and_ keep your grades up."

Leo smiled and got up to "bro-hug" his dad. "Don't worry, dad. There may be about a million things I'm no good at, but you can trust me to keep school under control."

"That's my boy."

* * *

Takumi was the last one up at almost eleven in the morning. His hair was in its usual messy ponytail that Sakura had always privately described as a pineapple with a paintbrush strapped to it. It was a weekend, so it was even more of a mess than it usually was.

Takumi yawned loudly and took a look around with bleary eyes. "Oh, hey. Morning, Sakura."

Sakura waved to him. "Good morning, Takumi! Oboro made breakfast for you."

"Wait, what? Why was she still here?"

"Oh, she fell asleep in the living room and nobody woke her up. She wanted to make it up to you, so she made a little something for you."

Takumi grinned a bit, but he was also visibly red. "Wow, that's nice. I'm gonna have to thank her."

Sakura got up and walked Takumi over to the breakfast his friend had made the night before. When he saw how much food there was, his eyes lit up.

"A little something? Damn, how am I going to make this up to her?"

 _Maybe by actually asking her out?_ "Oh, I'm sure she won't ask for anything. It was to make up for her sleeping here, after all."

"Yeah, but… eh. I guess I shouldn't forget to count my blessings. I'll make sure to thank her when I call her later today."

When Takumi sat down he ruffled Sakura's hair. While he was always a dry person, it was no secret that the sibling he loved the most was Sakura. After all, she was the only one he was older than, and as such thought he could take care of, even if she had skipped a grade and was on the same level of learning as him. They teased each other a lot, but they were easily the closest pair of siblings in the family.

Sakura decided she was in the teasing moment that morning. _Two days of it from Hana is enough to make me want to dish some out, I suppose._ "So, Takumi… you thinking about Junior prom yet?"

His face flushed a bit, but he gave a quick answer anyways as he put food in his mouth. "Nope."

"R-really? I thought you would ask Oboro to go with you for sure!"

Takumi angrily pointed his fork at Sakura. "It's not like that! We've been friends since we were in sixth grade!"

"Well prom doesn't need to be about romance." Sakura got up and did an exaggerated twirl. While she was usually a bit too shy to joke around in public, she was always comfortable goofing around with Takumi. "You can just ask her as a friend."

"Oh yeah? Well Subaki tells me you've been speaking to a new guy too. Thinking about him?"

Sakura quickly sat back down and looked away. "Why do Hana and Subaki do this? I just met the guy!"

Takumi broke out into a cackle. "Because he's the same dude that almost tripped over you when you were picking me up from the chess team. Like, the guy's probably the best on the team, but damn if he's bad at just looking down!"

"Takumi, that's so mean!"

"What, me saying he can't look down or me saying he'd have to if he wanted to see you?"

Sakura puffed her cheeks out and threw a crumpled napkin at Takumi, effectively silencing him. With that done, she stomped out of the room, not sure if she was really angry or not.

Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrating in one of her hoodie pockets. She fished it out of the pocket to check who it was. The screen was lit up with a picture of her and Hana that was taken over the summer from when they were at the beach together. _Well, that answers it. I swear if she makes fun of me again…_

"Hi, Hana. I'm just saying in advance, if you make fun of me f-"

"No, no! It's nothing about that Leo kid, I swear! Well, kind of. Kind of not. I dunno."

"W-what's that even supposed to mean?"

"Well, it means I got my schedule changed. My gym class got moved, so I won't be in your class anymore."

Sakura felt something sink in her heart. Even if she was excited to get to know Leo, she would still miss her oldest friend. Even if said friend would make fun of her all day.

"Oh… well, sorry to hear that."

"Psh, don't get upset about it! I'm in Subaki's class now, so I can watch him and Sevvie get together. A new romance to watch unfold!"

"New? Hana, I swear…"

Hana laughed. "Nah, I'm just teasing! But you have fun with your Prince Charming, I can't get in your way anymore!" Hana hung up the phone before Sakura could respond.

Sakura tossed her phone onto the couch before remembering she still wasn't alone in the living room. Hinoka was sitting just on the other end of the couch and had heard every single word, courtesy of Hana's lack of an indoor voice.

Hinoka had a wide smirk plastered on her face. "So, you sure you don't like any boys this year?"

Sakura's face turned redder than ever as she ran back up to her room, hands covering her face. _At least Kaden won't tease me about this…_

* * *

Leo was still sitting at the computer three hours later. After finishing some quests in World of Warcraft, he realized he had not eaten for a while and got up. As he walked towards the kitchen, he heard a sickly sweet voice that made him want to hide. _Well, there's no use. No escape._

Inside the kitchen was Camilla, who was talking to Corrin about something Leo did not care about in the slightest. Corrin quickly waved to Leo with a quick hello, but Camilla could not be trusted to keep things simple.

"Oh, Leo! How are you, my darling brother?"

"I'm fi-"

Leo was cut off by a smothering hug from his eldest sister. When he was younger, he really respected her like a second mother. But as he got older, the affection began to get tiresome. Not to mention unlike Elise, Camilla was very… "mature." "Mature" enough so that Niles once requested a hug and instead got a firm kick where no man would ever want one. Of course, Leo never saw Camilla's hugs the same way after that.

Camilla let go of Leo. "So, how's your weekend been?"

After taking a deep breath to avoid the clutches of death, Leo responded. "It's been alright. I'm just grabbing lunch."

"No, no. I'll make something, dear."

Leo shrugged. "Well, if you're offering, I'm not refusing."

Corrin just laughed and flicked Leo in the forehead.

"Ouch! Why'd you do that?"

Corrin just smirked again. "You're just a goof, you know that?"

"Big talk from someone who's dating a guy who cried when we watched Gremlins on Christmas."

"Hmph. Well, at least I'm dating someone."

"Well… I talked to about Pokemon to a girl in my gym class! You're days are numbered, Cornbread."

Corrin just laughed. They regularly play-fought with each other, even if Leo almost always won their silly little arguments. He didn't care who won though, it was just something he had always done with Corrin.

Soon enough, Camilla finished making grilled cheese and soup for herself, Leo, and Corrin. As they sat down to eat, Camilla decided to stick her nose in Leo's affairs as she always did.

"So, I couldn't help but overhear that you talked to a girl."

Corrin responded first. "Nah, he was kidding."

"Well, actually I did talk to a girl. But it was for like, five minutes. And we just chatted about Pokemon."

Camilla dreamily sighed. "Oh, maybe brother dearest has finally-"

"Camilla, I swear to god if you pull a Laslow I'm out of here."

Corrin chuckled. "Hey, if there was another Laslow in the world I'd be out too."

"Aren't you also friends with him?"

Corrin just stuck her tongue out. "Doesn't mean the world needs a second one."

But Camilla wouldn't stand down. "Oh, Leo, I'm not making fun of you. You finally found a girl with something in common with you! You have to take the chance, you know. You might not get another."

Leo did not know why, but he was suddenly frustrated. "Camilla. I talked to a girl. For ten minutes. In gym class. BECAUSE THE TEACHER TOLD ME TO."

Suddenly, Elise's voice came in from the other room. "Oooh, a girl? Was she pretty?"

"Sure, I guess. But-"

Camilla cut him off. "Oh, you even admit she's pretty! Tell me Leo, what's her name?"

"None of your damn business." With that, Leo downed his entire bowl of soup in one gulp, grabbed his grilled cheese, and angrily stomped back to his computer without another word. . Keaton was sitting right under the desk where Leo would usually rest his feet. However, he didn't even care. _Screw it. At least Keaton isn't going to ask stupid questions._


	5. In The Way

"So, Leo, is today the day you tell me who the mystery girl is?"

"No, Elise. Why do you even want to know so badly? I didn't tell you on Sunday. I didn't tell you on Monday. Why should I tell you today?"

Elise lightly punched Leo, making him stumble a bit on the sidewalk. "Because I want to know who my bro likes!"

Leo shoved Elise back, careful not to be too rough. "Stop listening to what Camilla says. I just met this girl and I don't like her that way."

"Then why can't you tell me who it is?"

"Because I know you'll just tell her that I like her or something like that."

Suddenly, Elise's eyes lit up. "Wait, so I know her? OH MY GOD, LEO, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!"

"Elise, no."

"Ooh, ooh, is it Effie?"

"Nope."

"Felicia?"

Leo scoffed at that one. "God no."

"Um… Sakura?"

Suddenly, Leo felt his face flush just a tiny bit. "What makes you think that?"

"AHA! You didn't say no to that one! And your face is getting red! It's totally her, isn't it?"

Just on time, the bus came to Leo and Elise's stop. But that wasn't stopping Elise. "I knew it! Don't worry, Leo! Your secret's safe with the world's greatest sister!"

Leo was too busy covering his increasingly red face to pay attention to what Elise was saying. _Damn it Elise, it's not what you say to her, it's what you say to me._

The bus ride to school was rather anxiety-filled, even for Leo. Niles had barely slept last night and didn't have many jokes to spit out, so that was once source of stress relief stripped away. There was only one thing to do: talk to Sakura again and hope it would brighten up this morning.

"So, Sakura, are you excited to meet Leo again today?" asked Takumi with a smirk as he and Sakura walked to their bus stop.

Sakura looked away from her brother. "Takumi, dad told you to stop bothering me about this."

"Hey, who says I'm trying to bother you?"

"Me."

Takumi sighed. "Ah, fine. I'm just teasing. I know the guy from chess team anyways, so it's not like he's some mysterious stranger. Probably a bit more skilled than me if I'm totally honest. A bit quiet though. But he's also _such_ a nerd."

"That's rich from you. You have an even better Pokemon team than I do and you're one of the best players on your World of Warcraft guild!"

Takumi laughed. "It was a joke, come on. Do you really think I'd say that as an insult? No, but he comes into class all the time with video game shirts and all that. Plus I can hear his friends halfway across the cafeteria arguing about anime sometimes. 'Specially that Owain guy."

"A-alright? What exactly is the point of you saying all that?"

Sakura immediately regretted the question as Takumi's face twisted into a shit-eating grin. "I just want you to know _all_ about your boy."

When the bus came, Sakura immediately ran onto it without saying another word. As Takumi crossed her seat, he smirked again as he sat next to Oboro a few seats behind her. _Yeah, tease me about Leo while you sit next to the girl who literally made a homemade meal with love for you._

Leo felt a rush of anxiety deep within him. He was initially looking forward to seeing Sakura again, but after all the weekend drama, he was just nervous. _After all, only a few hours until Elise probably says some lie about me having a crush._ After finding a corner behind the bleachers to stay in, Leo leaned back and gave a long sigh.

However, he quickly noticed that he wasn't alone. Also hiding in the shade of the bleachers was exactly who he was trying not to think about- Sakura. Clearly she didn't expect him either, as she quickly looked up with a red face. Both of them spoke at the same time.

"What are you doing here?"

While both collected their thoughts, Leo answered first… with another question.

"Where's your friend?"

"Sh-she moved classes. So I just kind of hid here because I had a lot on my mind."

"Um… sorry to hear about that. I actually came here for the same reason. Lot on my mind. Is it anything you want to talk about?"

Sakura thought for a moment before shaking her head and sheepishly averting eye contact again. Leo just nodded understandingly and walked off to lean against the bleachers. _I wonder if her family's been as teasing as mine… eh, I doubt it._

When the teacher called for all students to change, Leo went into the locker room, which proved to be just as uneventful as the last time, as Leo did not know any boys in either of the merged classes. Thankfully, this gave him some time to gather his thoughts. By the time he was exiting the locker room, he was ready to talk to Sakura again- hopefully without any awkward occurrences.

After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Leo left the locker room with a grin on his face. _I'm not messing this one up._

After hiding in the bathroom for ten minutes, Sakura finally emerged from the locker room. _Who thought it was a good idea to stick all the girls in one place to take their clothes off? Honestly, I want to punch whoever it was. Is that too harsh?_

Sakura looked around for a bit, feeling just the tiniest bit lost without Hana. Then she saw Leo. _Well, he might still be away because he thinks I need space._ Then, he started to walk up to her. _Nevermind._

"Hey, Sakura."

"Oh, h-hi, Leo."

"So, um… anything you want to talk about?"

 _Hmm… why does he seem nervous? Has his family been just like mine?_ "W-well… I'm still thinking about… well, I've got a lot on my mind." _A lot meaning how I feel about you and what the heck Subaki and Hana are thinking._ "I think I'd be better off on my own today, if you don't mind."

She saw the disappointment flash on Leo's face, but he just shrugged. "Well, I get it. Happens to me too, I know how it feels when nobody respects your privacy. It's what happens when you have four sisters."

 _Four sisters? There has to be a story behind that… but I guess that's just prying. Do I say anything?_ Sakura noticed she was staring at the ground. When she looked back up, Leo was gone… and the slowest kids in the class were leaving to go outside for class. _Damn it!_

The class was uneventful for Leo. The class did the mile run. _Tenth to last isn't so bad, I guess. Well, it's pretty bad when Xander was head of the football team before graduating._ That was one reason Leo never really liked gym class. He had no talent with it, he had always been a rather stereotypical skinny nerd. Of course, everyone expected him to be at the top of the class since his brother was the star player on the school football team. Leo really did hate that. He hated when everyone expected him to have anything in common with his siblings. They expected him to be athletic like Xander. Good at giving social advice like Camilla. Hell, even just outgoing like Elise. _Well, I guess this is where my thoughts wander when I have nobody to talk to. Can't I just think about something that's not depressing? Like owls or something? No? No. I'm the worst._

Leo didn't notice where Sakura was in the run. After he finally talked to her, he found there was generally less accidental awkwardness. Accidents happened less because she wasn't such a mystery anymore. And if they did, they weren't strangers. It wouldn't be so awkward. _I wonder what's on her mind that makes her even more silent. Maybe she really has been teased as much as me… I hope nobody hurt her._

 _DAMN IT, TAKUMI! DAMN IT, HINOKA! AND DAMN IT, HANA!_ Sakura really hated having angry thoughts. She was not a violent or particularly rage-filled person in any way. But when she was angry, she was afraid to let it out. But after all the things her friends and family pulled, there really was no way not to be angry. She had finally made a new friend. And just because it was a somewhat attractive guy who she had some awkward experiences with in the past, that suddenly meant everyone was going to accuse her of liking him. And once that happens, there's just a veil of awkwardness again. Thinking of whether or not you actually do like them or if your friends are just getting to you. _It's enough to make me want to scream… but I won't because I'm me._

Sakura finished fifth to last. Not the worst she had ever done. But of course, since her sister Hinoka was on the track team and Ryoma was on the football team, everyone expected her to be good in gym. Sakura the athlete. Not Sakura the artist, not Sakura the science genius, not even Sakura the above average Pokemon player, but an athlete. _I like my family just fine… well, most of the time, but why can't I just be me instead of them? Can't I just be Sakura instead of Hinoka's Sister?_

Leo had finished ahead of her by a few places. _I really hope he isn't too upset. I wonder what he's thinking about, he doesn't really have anyone to talk to right now. And I don't really feel like talking because A CERTAIN SOMEBODY had to plant awkward thoughts in my mind._

Sakura sighed and hoped the teasing would end soon. Maybe then she and Leo could have a normal friendship without everyone else in her life terrorizing her over it.

Leo sat down at his lunch table. _I swear to god if anyone brings up the Sakura business, I am going to break their wrist._ Nobody else was there yet. He looked around warily to see if anyone was approaching.

"So, Leo, how's your love life?"

Leo turned around rapidly and instinctively shoved whoever had spoken. While there was a brief moment of regret, Leo quickly noticed that the person he shoved had been Niles, who wasn't even angry. "Damn, Leo. That bad?"

Leo let a long breath out of his nose. "Niles, I swear to fucking god this better end right here. Right now."

"Jeez, I'm just teasing. Don't get too salty."

"Niles, this isn't funny. I think the girl's been being teased over this too and now we're both dealing with the same shit. It's really damn awkward."

Niles just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, fine."

Inigo, Owain, and Severa had also arrived and sat down. Before Inigo said anything, Niles just said "Leo is going to stab you thirty times with a fork if you bring up the girl."

Clearly, that was enough to shut Inigo up.

Leo rolled his eyes. "What he said. I guess."

Inigo just put his hands up. "Okay. Okay. Wasn't going to bring that up anyways, I've got my own girl to worry about."

Severa just stuck her finger into Inigo's sandwich, leaving an indent in the bread. She, Inigo, and Owain had a habit of messing each others' food up but eating it anyways. They had been friends since kindergarten. "Yeah, right. As if Cotton-Candy head would ever actually go out with you. She has standards, I think. Didn't she have a huge crush on Leo's brother?"

Leo's face turned red at the mention. The girl, whose name was Peri, had a very obvious crush on his brother Xander. Even knowing that Xander had gone steady with a girl named Charlotte in senior year. _I wonder if they're still together…_

Inigo, however, would not have any of what Severa was saying. "I'll have you know she was totally checking me out while I was walking in here!"

"Pffffft. She probably just thinks you're creeping on her. Creep."

Inigo just took a bite out of his sandwich. "Way to pick at my insecurities, Sev. I thought you were better than this."

Owain looked away. "Dude. Close your mouth when you eat. You look like my dad when he gets his hands on Halloween candy."

Niles just looked at Leo. "Do you ever feel like we're just out of the loop?"

Leo shrugged. "Eh. They've known each other for waaaaay longer than they've known us. Plus, we know Owain's dad. Man loves candy, everyone knows that."

"Like you with tomatoes?"

"Err… sure."

"Like tomato-chan?" whispered Inigo to Niles. Clearly, he expected Leo not to hear. That was his fatal mistake.

Leo grabbed Inigo by the wrist and slammed his arm onto the table.

"Leo, what the hell?"

Leo couldn't tell how much of his anger was hyperbole for the sake of joking, but he was still a bit pissed. "Hey, I said to leave me alone about that. I actually want to be friends with her and awkward shit like this'll just make it harder for me. AND NILES, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE A DICK JOKE HERE."

Niles snickered. However, Inigo was not laughing. "Dude, let me go!"

"Then you better stop with this whole 'liking her' business, kay?"

"Jesus, Leo! It's not like I'm asking you to marry her or anything, I just think asking a girl out could do you some good."

"Really? Even if it's just someone I'm trying to be friends with? I doubt it." Leo let go of Inigo.

"Leo, if you don't mind me saying, you have almost no confidence when you're not with us. If you could just ask a girl out, then maybe you'd be able to stop being so hard on yourself."

Leo sighed. "Okay, fine. I thought you were just making fun of me. But no, I'm not interested. Like, think what you want, but can you just leave me alone? It's making things awkward with me and her."

Inigo put his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. I still think you should go for it, but it's your call, man."

 _Well, I haven't seen Hana or Subaki yet today. Let's hope that when I get outside they don't immediately decide to start teasing._ Sakura opened the door to the courtyard and was met with a breath of fresh, warm air. _Perfect weather. Maybe it's a sign? I can hope._ She looked around the courtyard for her two friends and found them rather quickly, already in some sort of conversation that was making Subaki red. _Maybe he'll be the one getting it today… is it mean to want that?_

Sakura silently walked up to the table to not interrupt the conversation. After all, the longer Subaki was getting teased the longer she could go without being made fun of herself.

"Ha, you were TOTALLY giving her the eyes this time!" Hana was yelling at Subaki, maybe the tiniest bit too loud.

"I swear to god, Hana, I was just looking in her general direction! You'll twist anything to say I like her, won't you?"

"Only because you're so in love."

By this point, Sakura had already sat down and was nibbling at the fish sandwich her dad had made for her. _Please don't let me be next…_

Sakura immediately regretted even thinking of things Hana would say, as her thoughts tended to be right. "Oh, speaking of that!" said Hana.

"Hana, please don't."

"Don't what? I'm not in the way of your love life anymore in gym class!"

Sakura was actually slightly angry, which was not something often seen in her. "Hana, I wanted to talk to him again today but you just made it awkward. I think his friends have been doing this to him too…"

"Wait, seriously?"

Sakura was genuinely frowning a bit, which usually didn't happen when she was with her friends. "Yeah. You know, I really want to be friends with him. He's a cool guy. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to jump on him, you know I'm not like that. Can you just let me make friends?"

There were a solid few seconds of silence in which Hana's smile faded away and Subaki inched away and got quieter. When Hana finally spoke again, it was much quieter than usual. "Wait, you're serious?"

Subaki got a bit angry hearing that. "Of course she's serious! Do you see her? With me, it doesn't hurt because I don't know Severa at all. But you're making things awkward between her and her new friend!"

Sakura nodded. "Thanks, Subaki. Yeah, Hana. I know it's a joke to you, but I'm really trying to grow a bit this year. And he's been being made fun of too, I can tell it. So can you… you know, stop it?"

Hana blew a long breath out of her mouth. "I guess sometimes I'm a bit too much of a tease. I'm really sorry for making you upset, Sakura."

Sakura tried to muster up a smile. "It's okay, Hana. You were joking around. And like I said, his friends are probably doing it too. It'll get better."

"Yeah. Sorry though. I'll just go back to teasing Subaki."

"Wait, what?" Subaki said through his food.

Sakura and Hana both laughed. _Okay. Things are normal here, let's hope I can fix things with Leo too._

Tuesday was a flash for Leo. School had become easier than home, as while his friends decided to leave him alone about Sakura, his family did not. Elise never told Sakura anything, but she still always talked about how much of "an adorable couple" they would be. Camilla quickly joined in as well. Only Azura and Corrin were innocent.

Not only were the two cousins (And step-siblings due to Garon's complicated love and family life) innocent, but they were also the ones telling the others to drop it. Garon avoided mentioning it, since he wanted his son to focus on important things instead of teasing.

Despite all the teasing at home, Leo was ready to give talking to Sakura another shot on Wednesday.. _Maybe she'll be done with whatever was keeping her mind so busy on monday._

With Niles asleep on the bus, Leo didn't really have anyone to talk to. _I wish he'd stop going to sleep after midnight after looking at memes for hours. Or whatever he does. Do I want to know?_

After waking Niles up, Leo walked down to his gym class to see if Sakura was there. And after a few seconds of looking, he saw her. And this time, she walked up to him first and was actually smiling.

"Hi Leo!"

"Oh, hello, Sakura. I'm guessing you're doing better now?"

Sakura's smile faded for a second, but came back just as fast. "Yeah, I was just having a bit of drama with my friends. How have you been, by the way? Since we didn't talk last class."

"Oh, I've been alright. I've had a bit of drama too, to be honest."

Leo and Sakura both sat down in their respective spots in the line. When they sat, Sakura put her hands on her chin and appeared to be in thought for a second.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was your drama about?"

As soon as Sakura asked, the teacher called for both classes to go and change their clothes to get ready. But before they left, Leo responded.

"As soon as we get back out, I'll tell you."

Sakura's heart was beating faster than usual. _Agh, why do I have to be nervous about the answer? It's not like he was weirded out that I asked._ Sakura took a deep breath and walked out of the locker room.

When she got out, Leo was standing where they were before they went to get changed, hands in his pockets. He looked a little bit nervous as well.

"S-so… do you still want to tell me, or no? I'd understand if you don-"

"No, it's fine. I'm just nervous because… well, it's kind of awkward to mention."

"I'll tell you what happened with me. It's real awkward too."

Leo smirked a bit. "You know what? Thanks. We've known each other for a few days and you're already a real good friend."

Sakura grinned back. "Thanks."

"Anyways, I guess I'll tell you the shortened version." Leo blew some air out of his nose. "My friends and I really like making fun of each other. It's all good-natured, of course. But, well, you can probably guess what happened as soon as they discovered I talked to a girl."

"Oh?"

"Yep, I'm pretty sure you can guess what they've been saying. Plus, they've seen some of the more… well, awkward stuff that happened with us over the past few years, so… um… yeah." Leo's face was a bit red, but he shook it off. "It's behind me now, though. I told them it was making things a bit awkward, so they cut it out."

Sakura was silent for a few seconds, but then she started to laugh. "Oh… the same exact thing happened to me!"

Leo's face was red again. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, you remember the girl who was in this class before?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah, she saw us talking and recognized you from all the awkward stuff. Then, of course, she immediately started saying you were…" Sakura trailed off and turned beet red. _Should I really share that?_

But Leo wasn't judging. "I was what?"

"M-my prince charming…"

Leo let out a snort of laughter. "God, really? If prince charming means yammering on about our favorite Pokemon, then I don't know what stories she read as a kid."

"I know, right? I suppose that means I must be a princess because I can stutter out a question when the teacher makes me talk to people."

"Hey, don't be hard on yourself. What matters is that we're friends now."

"Yeah. Friends." Sakura smiled. She and Leo spent the rest of the gym class talking to each other. Even if they were both absolutely horrendous at sports, it was hard to get upset when they had friends in each other.


	6. A Shared Experience

As school went on, Leo and Sakura stayed close. The first two months of September and October flew by, leading to the week-long break that gave them Halloween and the first few days of November off. However, that break was nothing compared to the real excitement of november for the pair: a new Pokemon game. Especially since it was their shared love for the series that had drawn them together in the first place.

Needless to say, both of them were uncharacteristically excitable going into school that morning.

"Jesus, Leo. How much crack did you take to be so… jumpy? You look more like Elise than yourself right now."

"Someone say my name?" called Elise from the back of the bus.

Leo and Niles chose to ignore her and go on chatting. "It's not crack, it's called the new Pokemon game came out today. And god no, there's only one Elise. Any more and I'd probably die from exhaustion."

Niles snorted. "You frickin nerd. You going to pick the game up with your girl?"

At that, Leo just leered. "If by 'my girl' you mean my friend Sakura, then I don't know. Maybe. We've never really done anything outside of school besides text each other about books and games."

"Well, hey. Gotta make sure your first outing is nice."

"Yeah, Niles. Whatever." Leo smirked, knowing that unlike Inigo, nothing Niles said was to be taken seriously.

The ride to school didn't take too long, as Leo and Niles just spent the whole time talking about whatever random topics came out of the dark corners of Niles's mind. So mostly just memes and random things that had happened to them over the week.

However, while the bus ride was short, that didn't change that it was late. Leo had to run to gym if he wanted to get in any conversation before his class went on to waste thirty minutes on warmups before doing some sort of sport. Of course, nobody actually tried doing the warmups, so Leo just spent all of his energy running to class before he was marked as absent.

When Leo got into the room, he had to stop and catch his breath. Before he looked up, Sakura was already right in front of him.

"Leo, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"It's all good, I just-"

"Leo, the nurse's office is right across the hall. You want me to take you there?"

Leo really did enjoy Sakura's company, but she was a bit of a worrier at times… well, more like all the time. "Nah, I just needed to catch my breath. Got here late and didn't want to be absent."

As if on cue, the bell to start classes rang. Sakura laughed nervously. "O-okay. Hope I didn't sound like I was too worried." Leo and Sakura both got in their line. Sakura's face changed to a slight grin rather quickly. "Oh, but on to important things! I'm guessing you know what's happening today."

Leo grinned as well. "As if I could forget. So… you excited?"

Sakura's grin was now showing both rows of teeth. _Well, there's my answer._ "You have no idea! I've been excited since day one and it's finally here!"

"Oh, I have an idea of how that feels. Day one fan here, too."

Of course, they were called into the locker rooms before they could continue their conversation. _I guess we ARE still in school…_

But it gave Leo a much needed chance to think. _Should I actually listen to what Niles said? It would kind of be fun to go pick up the game with her… but who would drive me? Who would drive her? I mean, we're just friends, so it shouldn't be too awkward. But then my friends will never live this down… I can ace the hardest science class in the school but I can't decide if I should pick up a game with a friend or not. What is my deal?_

* * *

When Sakura got out of the locker room, she was excited to continue talking to Leo. And there were very few days where she was outwardly excited for anything. Most years, it was just her birthday and Christmas. But a new Pokemon release was basically a miniature version of either.

And that's when a great idea came to Sakura. _Leo seems just as excited as me… maybe we could pick up the game together! We've never really done anything out of school, so this could be a real good first!_

Sakura walked up to Leo to propose her idea, but saw he was looking a bit nervous. His eyes were averted to the ground and his hands were stuffed in his pockets, almost like he was before he knew her.

"Um… Leo? I asked if you were okay earlier… you really don't look okay."

Then, as if snapping out of a trance, Leo's eyes snapped back up to face her and he took his hands out of his pockets.

"Er… yeah. I was just thinking about something. But never mind that, it's all good now. I think. Did you have something you wanted to say?"

"W-well… I just sort of had an idea to share with you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I… well, I think it would be kind of nice if we could go to pick up the new Pokemon game together after school today. You know, since we've both been waiting so long and it's kind of what helped us meet each other, I thought it could be fun."

It looked like a thirty ton weight had been lifted off of Leo's shoulders when she said that, as he let out a long breath she didn't realize he had been holding… and she suspected he didn't realize either. And then he laughed.

"Oh god… that's what I was just going to ask you before I got nervous and thought it'd be weird. But if you're up for it? I'd love to."

Sakura was so happy that she could've hugged Leo. _But I won't. That would be really weird to do._ So she just settled for squealing in joy. "I can't wait! S-so, is it alright if my big sister picks us up after school? My brother won't be with us since he's going to be hanging out with a friend of his."

"Wait… brother? I think I might know him. Is he the one who…"

"Looks like a pineapple?"

Leo let out a snort of laughter. _Oh, he actually thought I was funny!_ "Yeah. He's on my chess team. I haven't talked to him that much… if I'm being honest he kind of scares me. Like, nothing personal or anything…"

"No, no. I get it, he has that effect on people. But I'm the one who's closest to him at home so I know him the best. He's kind of like you, actually… maybe a bit more socially awkward and anxious, but yeah, he's a nice guy at heart. I think you'd get along with him… if he doesn't just act like everyone else and assume we're… you know. Then big brother instinct might kick in."

"Noted. Anyways, I'll call my dad after class and then text you if I can go with you after school."

And as gym class actually started, Sakura did not need to think of how much time they wasted on warmups because she was already thinking of how great the rest of her day would be.

* * *

After gym was done, Leo made a beeline for the locker room so he could get his phone. He changed into clean clothes, put on deodorant, and quickly excused himself to the bathroom so he could make his call in a quiet location.

Garon quickly picked up the phone with a slightly tired "Hello, son? You know I'm at work, this has to be important…"

"W-well, you know how I've been talking about that one new friend I made this year but never actually invited over?"

"Yes?"

"Well, she wanted to pick up the new Pokemon game with me after school. I already payed for it in advance, so it's all good there. She'd be getting me a ride there, so all I'd need is a ride back."

"Leo, I'd love for you to go, but you know I have work then. University classes don't end at the same time as yours. I can't pick you up."

"O-oh…"

But Leo could practically hear the light bulb flash above his father's s head after that. "Wait just a minute! Camilla could pick you up! She has her license and I don't think she has plans tonight."

"Oh! Sounds good, thanks dad!"

"Alright, goodbye Leo. My next class is starting now and these kids won't learn History by staring at their desks."

And with that, the call was over and for a moment, Leo was overcome by excitement. But then he remembered it was Camilla picking him up. Camilla being the same person who was worse than all of his friends put together when it came to seeing things that weren't there with Sakura. _Oh boy…_

Leo made sure to text Sakura a very specific message.

'My dad says I can go with you. I already preordered the game so we're all good there. But you should just know my older sister is picking me up and she's probably gonna be kind of weird so just ignore if she says anything weird okay'

Leo could only pray that Camilla wouldn't scare Sakura off… or make her think Leo was secretly into her. Or both.

* * *

When Sakura was about to go to lunch, she made sure to check her phone. The first thing she saw was a message from Leo. When she read it, she was elated that he could go with her. But then she read the second half.

'But you should just know my older sister is picking me up and she's probably gonna be kind of weird so just ignore if she says anything weird okay'

Sakura did not know how to respond to the latter part, so she simply sent a message saying 'Okay, glad you can come! Can't wait!'

As she sat down at her little outdoor table (Probably for the last time until Spring, as it was November and the weather was getting very cold), Sakura immediately heard exactly what she didn't need to from Hana.

"Oooooh, Saku, you're smiling so much while looking at your phone! Are you getting texts from a boy?"

Meanwhile, Subaki just buried his face in his hands. "Hana, we've been over this. She's probably just texting Leo."

"And Leo's a boy, right?"

Subaki just groaned. "Yeah, but we all know exactly what you're implying."

Sakura sighed. "Hana, come on. I'm just going to pick up Pokemon with him after school, all right? Would you want me to tease you about Hayato?"

Hana's eyes widened. "Oh god no, he's like nine…"

Subaki actually snorted, but then covered his mouth. "Wait, did I just snort, oh god…"

But Sakura continued on. "What, you've been hanging out with him lately, haven't you? Is something going on with him?"

Hana's entire face was red. "Holy shit Sakura, NO. He's like two years younger than you and isn't even in the same grade. He just looked lonely and I found out he was a nice kid."

"But he's a boy, right? And that obviously means something."

Hana buried her face in her arms. "Okay, I'm sorry for all that nonsense about you and Leo being a thing. But like, really. No. He's a kid, seriously."

Sakura smirked. "Exactly. Now are you gonna leave me alone about Leo?"

Hana straightened her posture. "Yeah. For real. But Subaki and Severa…?"

Subaki's face turned red. "Wait, what do I have to do with this?"

Sakura and Hana looked at each other and giggled. It was Sakura who spoke next. "Okay, Subaki, I'm sorry, but it's too obvious there. Plus, she's totally the same way about you, Leo knows her so now I know ALL about you two."

Subaki leaned back with a huff, face entirely red. "You're both just jealous because I look good enough to have a girl that likes me."

Hana smirked. "Yep, he's guilty as charged."

* * *

"So, Leo, going out with a girl?"

Leo thought nobody knew what he was doing. Leo thought wrong. As soon as he sat down, Severa was asking him questions.

"Severa, I told you not to listen to what Camilla says about me."

"I mean, she said she had to pick you up from a date tonight, so I don't know what was lost in translation there… nothing wrong with it."

As if on cue, Owain, Inigo, and Niles arrived.

"Ha! I knew you had it in you, Leo!" cheered Inigo.

Leo was carefully contemplating stealing all of Severa's tater tots for Owain before he decided it would be better to just explain himself. "No. Seriously, no. You want to know what's happening?"

Niles answered first. "Leo's going to do nerd stuff with his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? Why am I always the last one in on this kind of thing? Did you show her your meme page or something?" Owain said as he "covertly" stole half of Severa's tater tots.

"Ugh, for the love of…" Leo rubbed his temples. "This is just Camilla over exaggerating again. And Niles is just pranking you guys. As always. You know my friend Sakura?"

"I mean, I know _of_ her, but you've never actually taken her here…"

"Shut up, Inigo. You know what I mean. Yeah, the girl you guys keep saying I'm in love with or some shit. She and I are picking up Pokemon Sun and Moon today after school. That's all. No date."

Owain was immediately jealous. "Ugh, screw dating! Pokemon is way more important. I wish I could pick it up right after school, but I already promised my little cousin I'd pick it up with him. And I work today."

"Morgan? But he's cool, why would you be upset about that?" Severa quickly piped in.

"Eh, not upset. I just have to wait until the weekend to buy it."

Leo cleared his throat. "Anyways, that's settled, right? And I'm putting down the new law of the land: if Camilla says anything about me involving Sakura, assume it's a lie unless I specify otherwise. Got it?"

"Yeah, boss," said Severa in a tone dripping with irony.

"I mean, unless you want me to talk about you and Subaki…"

"LEO I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL MAKE YOU A EUNUCH IF YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THAT."

Niles, despite having a mouth full of food, still found the breath to mutter "Save your kinks for Subaki."

"SHUT IT NILES!"

* * *

School went by in a slow crawl for Sakura due to just how much she was anticipating the rest of her day, so she made sure to run to Hinoka's car as fast as she could. _It's finally done… now the wait is over! I CAN'T WAIT!_ Stopping herself so she wouldn't trip, Sakura opened the car door and slid into the back seat.

"Saku, why aren't you in the front? I'm not gonna bite, I'm not Takumi."

"Yeah, but my friend is coming with us, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Wouldn't want to distract you lovebirds."

Sakura pouted and flicked her index finger into Hinoka's head from the back. "I told you, it's not like that."

"Yeah, yeah. Just joshing. Now if you were Takumi and it was Oboro coming? That'd be a different story."

Sakura smirked. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're going out now. I totally saw her kiss him when they got off the bus yesterday."

"Wait, seriously?"

"No, I just knew you'd believe me if I said that."

Hinoka pulled a lever and her seat moved backwards, forcing Sakura to put her legs up on the car seat and messing up her skirt in the process. "Hinoka, stop that! You'll crush me!"

The car seat moved back to its normal position shortly after. "That's what you get for bamboozling me." Sakura pouted and looked out the window to see Leo strolling towards the car and awkwardly waving to Hinoka.

"Um… hello. I'm Sakura's friend, I don't think we've met…"

"Oh, yeah. Leo, right? Hinoka."

"Yep, that's me. I'll just slip into the back seat here." Leo carefully opened the door and slid into the car next to Sakura. He turned to face her with just a little bit of awkwardness.

"Don't mind me, kids. I remember when I met my boyfriend. I won't spoil your fun."

Sakura and Leo turned to each other, both of their faces beet red.

Leo tried to sputter something out. "Um… it's really not- I just-"

Sakura was just as confused. "Hinoka… he's not… I swear to god, Hinoka…"

Hinoka let out an actual belly laugh. "Come on, it was a joke. I mean, unless you really are that way, in which case congratulations."

Leo and Sakura both turned to face out their respective windows. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Hinoka turned on the radio to play some loud music. With Hinoka focused on the radio, Leo and Sakura turned back to each other without any fear of Hinoka making things awkward.

"Well, you remember what I said about my sister being weird?" asked Leo.

Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, she's basically going to do this but worse. Just thought some warning would be needed."

"W-worse?"

Leo cringed internally. "Yeah. I mean, Elise made jokes about this at first until she realized it was you, then it kind of got awkward for her since she actually knows you."

"Wait, Elise too? I knew there was a reason she was so giggly the day after I met you…"

"I was worried you'd say something like that. And to be clear… err… yeah, this isn't… you know…"

Sakura just nodded while blushing furiously. "Yeah… you're a great friend, but… yuck, I don't even want to think about that!"

Leo feigned being hurt. "I'm that ugly? Sakura, you wound me."

Sakura just shoved Leo and pouted. "No, you look great- I mean, like, I'm saying that as I friend, but…" After crossing her arms, Sakura finished with "You're such a jerk, Leo."

* * *

 _She really is cute when I tease her… that little pout she does where she puffs out her cheeks… WAIT, what am I thinking? Damn it, Sakura's sister. Stop putting weird thoughts in my head. It's not like that. No. But how do I salvage this situation. We're supposed to be having fun…_

Leo just decided to roll with the situation. "Hey, I'm not so bad. Otherwise you'd probably kick me out of the car."

Sakura's blush had faded away and she was back to smiling. "You're right. Even if you are still a meanie, you're the fun kind."

"Me? Fun? I don't hear that often."

"Maybe you should."

Leo smiled, knowing that he actually had someone who genuinely enjoyed his presence. However, his smile faded away when he noticed no music was playing.

"You kids take your date outside my car, okay? We're at the store." said Hinoka with a total shit-eating smirk on her face. "I mean, sure you're buying Pokemon, but nerd dates are still dates, right?"

Sakura just grabbed Leo's wrist, opened the door, and bolted out of the car with him as Hinoka chuckled from the front seat and drove off to park.

"Sakura, is there a reason you're so strong? I'm probably a full foot taller than you and you just dragged me out like I was nothing."

She blushed and averted her eyes a bit. "I mean, sometimes I practice archery with my brother, but that's really all."

"Well, it's still impressive. I'm not even weak or anything… like, I may be a total nerd most of the time, but I still take time for exercising. So yeah… anyways, I think there's something a bit more important than how strong we are."

Sakura beamed. "Oh, right! Well, let's go buy that game!"

When they got into the store, Leo saw a very unexpected familiar face.

"Leo, my dude! Oh, and is that your friend that you mentioned? I don't think we've met?"

"L-Leo, who's this?"

Leo just walked up to the counter and lightly shoved Owain. "I don't know this strange creature at all. But I do know we have some pre-orders to pick up that he has to get for us."

"Fine, be that way!" said Owain, feigning injury from Leo's shove. Then he turned to Sakura. "Really, though. I'm one of Leo's friends, Owain. It's nice to meet the fine maiden whom he has befriended."

"H-hi…"

"Alright, so do you guys have your receipts? I'd love to just give you the games for free, but I don't want to lose my job. Then I won't have the cash to buy all the comics I need next month."

Leo and Sakura both handed Owain their receipts for the game.

"Alright, one copy of Sun and one copy of Moon, coming right up!" Owain did a dramatic flourish as he turned around to take the games off the display shelf, then handed them to his friend and friend of a friend.

"You two have fun! And tell me what your teams are, my cousin and I need people to battle!"

"Bye, Owain." Leo was trying not to explode in excitement in front of Owain. He looked next to him and Sakura was practically shaking in excitement as well.

"B-bye, Owain! It was nice meeting you!"

* * *

Sakura finally let out her squeal of joy when she got out. Leo was positively beaming, but he turned to Sakura with very slight concern.

"I hope Owain wasn't too weird. I've known him for a really long time and I know he can be a bit of a handful."

"No, no. He was a bit of a goofball, but he seems nice."

"Alright, that's good. That's good." Leo's grin returned. "So I'm probably going to play this all night when I get home," said Leo, holding his copy of the game in front of his face.

"Me too! Agh, I've been waiting since February!" In the excitement of the moment, Sakura jumped up and hugged Leo, her arms wrapping all the way around him. But then Sakura realized what she was doing and let go, blushing. "Um… sorry. I'm just r-really excited, you know?"

Leo's face was red too, but he had the hint of a smile on his face. "No, no it's fine. You just sort of surprised me there. Let's just be happy my sister wasn't watching."

"O-oh god… imagine that! I mean, I don't know her, but if your description meant anything, we'd probably both be pretty embarrassed right now."

"Yeah… well, anyways, I'm sure your sister is waiting for you. And so is that game, I'm going to want to call you tomorrow to see how you're enjoying it!"

"I can't wait! I'll keep in touch, Leo! You have a great night!"

"You too."

Sakura ran to Hinoka's car and eagerly hopped into the front seat, bouncing in joy.

"Gee, Sakura, did you get your first kiss or something?"

"No, better. I got my game, exactly what I went out for."

"Ha. You're such a nerd, Sakura."

"Well this nerd is going to have a great weekend with her new game. And she has a friend to share the experience with."

* * *

When Leo slid into the car, he was fully expecting what Camilla was going to say to him.

"So, how was your date, Leo?"

"Camilla, I don't think picking up our copies of the new Pokemon game counts as a date."

"Not with that attitude."

Leo would usually be frustrated at this point, but he was to excited to get upset. "Camilla, she'd have to be my girlfriend for it to be a date. It's not like that, we were just both really excited about the game and wanted to go together."

"Whatever you say, brother dearest. Big sis always knows best," Camilla said as she parked the car in their driveway.

"You know, why don't you go make fun of Severa and Subaki? I'm just waiting for her to say 'baka' so it can turn into a shitty anime."

Camilla feigned deep thought before saying "You know, that's a great idea! Leave it to Leo to be the smartest one in the family!" Camilla ruffled Leo's hair. He couldn't help but smile a bit, even if his sister was a bit too much of a tease sometimes. And as he got out of the car, Leo felt happy. The weekend was looking promising for both him Sakura. _And what good is happiness without being able to share it? Wait, don't they say that about love? Nah._


	7. The Lunch Bunch

November ended in the blink of an eye, with things like exams and Pokemon making the month seem more like a week to Leo. Both things he was good at- even if only one of them was actually any fun. Thankfully, even the boring exams were easy enough for Leo. And with November ending, December had come. And with December came the winter- Leo's favorite season. And there was better way to start the new season off than another gym class with Sakura- even if she was far less keen to find anything to like about the new season.

"L-leo, how can you e-enjoy weather like this?" For once, Sakura's shyness wasn't the cause of the stuttering. It was just that for some reason, the gym teachers had decided that an outdoor class in mid-December was a good idea.

"I just come prepared."

Sakura was wearing a pink knit cap, white hoodie, and her warmest pair of sweatpants, but she was still shivering nonetheless. "S-so did I!"

Leo smirked. "Maybe you just can't handle the cold."

Sakura's face was red, but Leo couldn't decide if she was embarrassed or just cold. "I-I would never deny that. I guess I just need to wait until spring for nice weather."

"Spring? Talk about cold weather and winter all you want, but allergies from spring are the worst."

"You said I can't handle the cold? I guess you just can't handle a little bit of pollen." Sakura attempted to look smug, but Leo couldn't help but think that she just looked adorable instead.

Leo was about to comment, but he ended up receiving a ball to the face instead. _Damn it. How did I forget we were supposed to be playing capture the football?_ And with that thought, he fell down on the cold, hard ground.

The pain wasn't as bad as he expected it would be- his thick winter clothing padded the fall just enough to stop his head from directly slamming into the ground. But there were still scrapes on his arms and legs.

As Leo was getting up, he felt someone rushing to him and grabbing his arm. And of course, it was Sakura, worried as ever. She had a look of intense concern in her eyes as she knelt down besides Leo. _And are those tears in her eyes?_

"L-leo, are you okay? I-I'm so sorry for distracting you… ugh, that must hurt so much…"

Leo propped himself up a little bit. "Nah, it's okay. I was talking just as much as you, don't blame anyone..." Leo stopped himself and thought for a moment before attempting a smirk. "Except maybe the guy who threw the ball and didn't notice me."

Sakura helped Leo up- something that looked odd considering how short she was, but Leo knew how much strength was somehow stored in that tiny body. As she pulled him up, her voice was still shaky and uncertain. "Is there anything I can do to help? I-I know you said it's not my fault, but I still want to help you."

"Well, I guess you can just tell the gym teacher that I need to sit on the bench for the rest of class. I'm not really up for playing sports while my arm is all scraped up."

"A-alright." Sakura grasped Leo's hand comfortingly for a moment before running off to the teacher.

* * *

Sakura finished talking with the teacher (And properly chewing out Saizo for throwing the ball so carelessly) and was glad that she got permission to stay with Leo… even if getting it meant using the puppy-dog eyes. _I guess I owe Elise one now for teaching me that… but then again, I did it for her brother._

As she sat down on him next to the bench, she noticed the look of mild surprise on his face. "Cutting class now?"

Sakura puffed up her cheeks and lightly shoved him, careful not to not touch the scraped arm. "I just thought you could use some company. After all, you don't have your book with you."

Leo shrugged. "True, true. But what can you really do here? Kiss my booboos?"

Sakura's face turned entirely red, but she turned her head away to hide it. "Hmph. Maybe if you're just going to be a meanie I'll leave."

Leo snickered. "Alright, alright. I was just kidding around. I make fun of all my friends, I guess we're just close enough so that I felt like it was okay to do that, too. Sorry if I, you know… sounded like an ass."

Sakura just giggled. _I wasn't actually mad… but now that I think of it, I've never met any of his friends… well, other than Owain. But that was only for a minute._ And that's when she had an idea.

"No, it's fine. But while we're on the topic, why don't I hang out with you and your friends for lunch today? That could be fun."

Leo's face seemed to steal the red from Sakura's. "Um… is that a good idea? And don't you and your friends already have a place to hang out?"

"It's almost winter, Leo. We've been sitting inside in the hallways and it's really not fun. Plus, both my friends got sick… and I don't want to eat alone."

The red faded away from Leo's face. "Hmmm… I mean, my friends can be a bit of a handful. You met Owain, and I can't say any of my friends are much less odd than him."

Sakura shrugged. "My friends can be weird too. But isn't it fun that way? It's not like we're exactly normal either."

Leo feigned being hurt. "Sakura, are you making fun of me?"

She grinned and laughed a bit. "I mean, we met talking about a children's game revolving around using cartoon animals, keychains, and magnets to fight each other. And we play World of Warcraft. Plus we've probably read more books than the rest of the juniors combined. We're dweebs."

With a smile, Leo leaned back on the bench. "I guess you're right. I'll just text you the spot, but you'll probably notice us by Owain's yelling alone."

 _Well, today will be… interesting._

* * *

When Leo sat down in the cafeteria, he couldn't shake off the slight feeling of apprehension he still had. As his friends started arriving, he knew he had to brief them on what was happening if he didn't want to be humiliated.

Niles saw Leo first. "Leo, what happened to you? You look like you got attacked by a troop of angry preschoolers."

"Niles, what the hell is that even supposed to mean?"

"I dunno. But you're all scratched up and you look scared of something… the preschoolers gonna come back?"

"Niles, I don't know what you smoked this morning. But no, I just got hit in the face with a football and fell onto the cold, hard ground."

"Yeowch."

As the rest of his group sat down, Leo cleared his throat. "So there's something I need to say."

"What, coming out of the closet?"

Inigo scoffed. "Niles, Leo's closer to having a girlfriend than you ever will. At least a girl was actually willing to talk to him without retching."

Leo just buried his face in his hands. "What I was trying to say is that my friend Sakura is going to eat with us today."

The table was dead silent for a few seconds- an occurrence rarer than Inigo seeing a girl and not calling her pretty.

But then Owain started laughing even louder than usual. "By the light of the sun! Severa's gonna have to sit with her crush! WITH US AROUND! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Severa immediately punched Owain in the shoulder. "I swear to god, Owain. Are we gonna pull what you all did to Leo on me? Come on, Leo! Can you at least vouch for me?"

Leo was resisting the urge to just crawl into the garbage can and never be seen again. "Subaki isn't even going to be here. Even if that does disappoint you, Severa."

Severa's face turned as red as her hair. "You should know how this feels after what Inigo pulled when you first met Sakura."

"Yeah, difference is that it's pretty obvious that you and him actually like each other."

"Asshole."

Niles craned his head over the table. "Huh?"

Severa just facepalmed. "Not you, Niles."

Inigo nodded his head to indicate the space behind Leo. "Well, looks like you briefed us just in time."

Sakura was shyly approaching the table. When she saw Leo, she perked up a little bit and hurried her pace. She finally got to the table and immediately sat down in the empty seat on Leo's left side.

"Um… hi?"

Before any of his friends could say anything dumb, Leo returned the greeting first. "Hey, Sakura. Well, I guess now you get to meet my little family away from home."

"H-hi…"

"Greetings, it has been quite a while since we last met! I trust the days have been treating you well since then?" came Owain, dramatic as ever.

Sakura giggled. "Yeah. I hope you've also been doing well… Owain, right?"

"The one and only." said Owain with a wink.

Niles spoke up next. "Uh… I'm Niles. And I'm this joint's resident meme dealer. I can hook anyone up with the highest quality fresh memes. Owain's probably my number one satisfied customer if you need recomendations on my stock."

"Alright… I guess I'll have to ask later."

 _Well, that's not the worst thing he could've said. Especially considering the fact that this is a girl…_

"I'm Inigo. If there's anything to know about me, I suppose it's that I'm always willing to help a friend out. And if you're Leo's friend, I suppose that makes you my friend as well. Welcome to our little clan!"

"Th-thanks… um… Indigo?"

"No, Inigo. Een-ee-go. Like that one guy from The Princess Bride." He put on a falsetto. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Sakura giggled. "Th-that was actually a really good impression! Do you act?"

"Why yes, I do! Thank you for the compliments." Inigo then nudged Severa. "You gonna say anything?"

Severa was evidently trying not to look too mean, so she just lightly nudged Inigo back. "Yeah, yeah. Well… I'm Severa, but I think you might already know about me through Subaki. H-he's mentioned me, right?"

Sakura stifled a laugh. Leo let himself blow some air out of his nose… after all, it was pretty hard for him not to laugh at Severa mentioning her increasingly obvious crush.

"Y-yeah, he's mentioned you before. For what it's worth, he says you're really talented at what you do."

Severa was doing her best not to break out in a huge grin. "Really? Well, I mean, I am pretty good at most things, but he's a real talented guy too."

"Ah, why don't you just find him and get a room already?" Inigo chuckled.

Severa glared daggers at Inigo before turning back to Sakura with an almost pleading look. "Just ignore that."

Sakura was trying even harder not to laugh and miraculously pulling through. "A-alright. I wish he was here today, it would be fun to bring him down here…"

Leo couldn't resist the urge to laugh and Sakura actually turned around so she could let out her giggle as well.

Severa looked both petrified and furious at once, but was still trying to keep a cool head. "I-I… ugh, why does everyone just assume that I like him?"

Owain, once again plucking a few tater tots off of Severa's plate, simply responded, "Only Inigo said anything about you liking him."

"I-um… AGH! You guys are mean."

Leo and Sakura both took in a few deep breaths as they stopped laughing. Sakura turned back around. "Okay, I'm sorry… if it's any better, he's the exact same way."

"Wait… he likes me?" Severa's face was growing red again as she realized her mistake. Owain stole another handful of tater tots.

"If Leo isn't going to say it, I will."

Leo put a hand up. "Nope, I'll be the one to say it." Leo rubbed his hands together and slammed one on the table as if placing a chess piece. "Checkmate."

The entire table, other than Severa, burst into laughter. Even Sakura was giggling while futilely trying to cover it up with her hands.

Severa buried her face in her arms. "Please don't say anything about this to him..."

* * *

Sakura walked into her anatomy class, she still had a grin on her face. The lunch period had been eventful to say the least. Even after Severa was… exposed, for the lack of a better word, Sakura got to meet a bunch of interesting people.

Behind his dramatic facade, Sakura could tell Owain was a legitimately sweet boy. He was very close with his cousins Lucina and Morgan and also regularly went out to dinner with his family, even if his father just used them as an excuse to buy extravagantly large desserts at the restaurants they would visit.

Niles was clearly a bit of an oddball, but apparently he went through foster care for years until he found a set of parents that were patient and loving enough to take him in. It was a surprisingly sad story for someone as goofy as Niles, but Sakura's heart was still warmed to see that someone with such a troubled background was still able to have all of his friends and found happiness in a strange sort of way.

Inigo was clearly a kind boy from the start. He looked like he would be the least interesting at first, but he was apparently incredibly interested in musical theater, both singing and dancing. _I knew I recognized him from the school play!_ His mother was a dance teacher for little girls and his father was a war veteran who later became a birdwatcher and veterinarian. And from what Sakura gathered, a master of the art of cheesy dad jokes… possibly even rivaling her own father.

And then there was Severa. After all the teasing was done, she was calm enough for Sakura to be able to get to know her a bit more. She was a bit sassy and sometimes rude, but was also very hard working, mostly because her mom was a total overachiever and a rough example to follow. Her father was apparently much more laid back, which let her calm down enough to not develop serious issues. And she was also a great athlete who had led the school's softball team to victory the previous year. Despite that, she was just as much of a nerd as the rest of the group… even if she didn't seem to admit it.

But Sakura had other things to think about now that her easiest class for the day was over- but hey, at least it was still the last class. And even if it was hard, she still had a friend there.

"Hiya, Sakkie!"

Elise was easily noticed even from a distance, probably just because her voice was so loud. She was the opposite of Sakura in that way, but the two still got along great.

"Hi, Elise."

"Hah, you look way happier than usual today! What's your secret?"

Sakura blushed for a second, but it faded away just as fast as it appeared. "Oh, I just got to hang out with some interesting people today. New experiences, you know?"

"Were those interesting people my bro and his friends by any chance?"

The blush returned. "Wait… how would you know that!"

"Ha! Knew it." said Elise with a wink. "Lucky guess. I just know you and him have been friends for a bit now. That's cool."

"Y-yeah, it really is. Is there some sort of nice person gene in your family?"

Elise's smile faded for a second. "Um… kinda complicated business there. I don't imagine Leo's told you anything about our… unique situation?"

 _Wait, Elise not smiling? Oh no, I really messed up this time…_ "E-Elise? Are you alright? I-I'm really sorry if I brought up anything painful."

Elise shook her head and tried to smile again. "Nah, it's fine. Trust me. It's not something I really want to talk about it, but maybe I'll tell you someday. Or Leo will."

"O-okay. I really am sorry though."

Elise put a hand on Sakura's. "Don't be."

Sakura smiled. _I really don't deserve such nice friends._

* * *

Leo finished the day with a smile on his face. History class with Owain was still always a blast. Even if he was probably the top of his class, it didn't mean there was no fun allowed. "Fun" of course meaning Owain making jokes about Pokemon and anime for almost the entire eighty minutes of class. And at the end of the day, he would be able to always see another friend. Leo always got excited to see her, even if it was just a quick greeting before they headed off in their separate ways. _And here she is._

"Hello, Sakura."

Sakura stopped walking when she reached Leo. _Wait, what? She never stops._ "Hi, Leo! Um… I was just wondering if you'd be okay if I came back to your table at lunch tomorrow?"

"Of course! Why would you even need to ask about that?"

"Well, I'd be bringing Hana and Subaki. We're out of a place to sit and since I had so much fun, I figure they might too!"

"Just be careful that Severa and Subaki don't run away to make out with each other."

Sakura put on a face of exaggerated disgust. "Oh god… don't even put that picture in my mind!"

"Heh. Well, they'll probably be too busy saying how much they don't like each other. I swear, this is right out of one of Owain's animes."

"You know, Severa and Subaki's shenanigans aside, I'm really glad to have a friend like you."

Leo's face turned a bit red at the sudden compliment. "Well… thanks. And I'm glad to have you as well."

And that's when Sakura defied all expectations and suddenly hugged Leo. Since she was so inexplicably strong, she tightly wrapped her arms around him with ease. Leo's face was red before, but now he probably looked more like the tomatoes he loved so much than an actual human being.

"Um… what are you doing, Sakura?"

Sakura apparently realized what she was doing and let go. "Um… giving you a hug?"

"Err… is there a reason why?"

Sakura averted her eyes, making firm eye contact with the ground. "I-I… well, I was just thinking how much I don't deserve friends as good as you."

The red on Leo's face completely faded away, as did any embarrassment. "Why would you ever say that? You're an amazing person who deserves every friend you have and more."

"Th-thanks, Leo. It means a lot that you think that about me. But I was talking to Elise earlier and mentioned something about your family having a 'nice person gene' but then she said that you had a 'unique situation' and I… I just want you to know that if there's anything bothering you ever I'm always here to talk about it."

Despite how fast she was speaking, none of Sakura's words went unnoticed by Leo. "I... I'll tell you about that another time. It's not too big of a deal to me, but I can see why Elise wouldn't want to talk about it. But really, thank you for thinking about me. You're a good friend, Sakura."

Leo had to bend a bit to "hug" Sakura back (Her being a full head shorter than him), but it was more like the "bro-hugs" he would share with his father, his brother, or his friends. _I mean, she's a girl, don't they hug their friends all the time? I think so._

"Well, bye, Leo. Have a good day!"

"You too, Sakura. You too."

* * *

Sakura got into her sister's car to immediately see an incredibly smug Hinoka. _Oh god, did she see what just happened?_ She was mortified right away, all the color draining from her face.

"Sakura. That was golden."

Takumi was laughing like a hyena. "Sakura, I was joking when I was teasing you about him! Like, god. I can't believe you actually hugged him!"

Sakura just sat down and looked out the window to avoid eye contact with her siblings. "I'm not falling for it today. I just had a moment with my friend. That's all."

Hinoka shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'm just saying you two would make the cutest couple in the school."

Takumi finally caught his breath and pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. "For real though, I was just laughing at how surprised he got. I just knew him as one of those cool and collected types on the chess team. Never thought I'd see him like that. God… I just hope he doesn't actually have the hots for you. It's already hard enough when one guy you know is dating one of your sisters."

Hinoka rolled her eyes. "Hey, Hinata asked you for your approval and you said yes. Too late to complain."

"Yeah, but it's still a bit weird… we were making sand castles on the beach together while Sakura was still a baby! He's as much of a brother to me as Ryoma."

"Chill, Takumi. You've known Oboro just as long and I've been watching your little love story unfold since you were in seventh grade."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Takumi yelled as he turned away to look out the window as well.

Sakura coughed. "Um… are we going to actually drive home now?"

Hinoka's face turned as red as her hair as she put her foot down on the pedal. "Um… thanks for reminding me, Saku."

* * *

Leo felt simultaneously heartened, confused, and embarrassed. He was heartened because of how sweet of a friend Sakura was. Confused because she was such a shy and introverted person but she hugged him anyways. And he was embarrassed because he liked it.

Apparently, Niles could see right through Leo. "Ay man, what's with you? You look like… actually, I'm having trouble coming up with a joke. Any help?"

"Like someone who doesn't know how to feel."

"Careful, Leo. You're heading to an edgy place right now. It would be a shame if you got any more cuts than you already have on your arm."

Leo just gave Niles a deadpan glare. "Do you really want to know what happened?"

Niles just shrugged. "I guess so. It would probably explain something."

After taking a deep breath, Leo told his story. "So… I was walking out the same way as usual and I saw Sakura. And… well, she was just talking about having her other friends join us for lunch."

"So? That sounds 'aight to me."

"That's not the end of the story. So she started saying she doesn't deserve a friend like me. And of course, that's not true, even you know that. So then… um…"

"What, did she stick her tongue down your throat and start making out with you?"

Leo's face turned incredibly red. "Jesus, Niles. Get your head out of the gutter… or whatever deep abyss it got stuck in. She just hugged me. And yeah, it kind of felt weird."

Niles chuckled. "Ha. What, did you get a stiffy or something?"

"No, Niles. It's just… you know how shy she is, I wasn't expecting it."

Raising his eyebrows, Niles asked one question. "Did you like it though?"

"I-I don't know." Leo fidgeted in his seat.

"Alright then. I'm gonna be real for a second though."

Niles being "real" and not joking was an occurrence rarer than a total eclipse. But when it happened, he was always going to give good advice. Although he was silly on the outside, he had lived through a rough life and had enough experiences to give surprisingly sage advice.

"She's a girl. Girls hug people all the time. And if you have a touch problem, you were both wearing winter coats. Don't overthink it. Just appreciate that you have a little friend who likes you as much as she does. If you like her? Go for it and ask her out. She'd probably say yes. And if you don't? Well then she's your friend. Be happy for that. I still remember elementary school, you were my only friend then."

Leo exhaled. "You're right. I won't overthink it. And really, thank you."

"For what?"

"For the advice. And being my friend all these years."

"Is this the part where we hug?"

Leo pushed Niles, almost knocking him off his seat by accident. "Yeah, no." _Even if he is a doofus, I'm glad he's stuck with me for all this time._

As Leo looked out the window, he could only think of how fortunate he was to have the friends he did. _I don't deserve them._


End file.
